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Town of Lexington
Human Services Committee
Minutes of Meeting of June 17, 2014
A meeting of the Human Services Committeewas held on June 17, 2014 at 7:30 PMat
Town Offices Building Room 111. A quorum of __ was present.
Members Present: Lea Elkin Gardner, Stephanie Lawrence, Gail Rogers, Barbara
Ciampa, Norm Cohen
Members Absent: Gail Fields, Mary Ballard
Also present: Charlotte Rodgers, Emily Sara Lavine,
The meeting acted on the following items:
1. The minutes of the May 8, 2014 meeting were approved with minor corrections
of wording.
2.Human Services Department report:
a.Nurse interviews are in the final process of checking references
b.A $41,000 Dana Home Grant will fund outreach and a dedicated wellness
room
c.The CHNA grant from the Leahy system is in its second phase. Mental
health issues are a priority. Town-wide 120 people will be trained in
mental health first aid, half who work with adults, half how work with
youth. Materials will be developed for the community as well as
developing a community forum or conversation on mental health needs.
th
d.A Fun Fest will take place on July 30 from 6 to 8:30 PM, a collaboration
of the Human Services, Police, Fire and Recreation Departments.
e.Homeless Families in the Quality Inn: there are 14 families currently. The
interfaith Lift Up Lexington group continues to assist the families.
Daycare is a need so that parents can work.
3.Community Center Advisory Committee
a.The budget for the renovation of the Community Center building has been
approved. Subcommittees are actively working.
4.Community Center Committee
a.Rooms are being assigned to programs at present.
b.The question of what youth programs are appropriate to be located at the
center versus off-site is being considered.
c.Drop-in hours for youth are not likely to be available upon opening due to
lack of staff available for supervision. Programming for specific times
with staff hired for that time is being considered.
d.Programming is expected to develop over time.
5.Emailing procedures
a.Candy Mc Laughlin explained new email procedures for town committees.
i.The Human Services Committee email address is
humanservicescmte@lexington.ma.gov. The committee chair will
monitor the email inbox, manage email, and forward to other
committee members as appropriate.
ii.Committee members should “cc” this email address on all
communications so a public record will be maintained.
6.Needs of At-Risk Youth
a.The purpose of this task is to gather what has already been done by
various people and groups in the community, add to the knowledge where
indicated, and clarify what is already being done, and what is needed in
terms of space and people to fill gaps to meet needs.
b.Sources of information include the Ad-hoc Committee for Youth at Risk
(a report of this Committee is expected in September), Lexington Youth
and Family Services, Lexington Interfaith Clergy Association (LICA), the
Healthy Communities initiative, the Youth Risk Survey conducted at
Lexington High School, and the staff of the Metco program.
7.Committee Goals: The Committee established the following goals for the coming
year:
a.The Human Services Committee shall reflect the demographics of the
Town of Lexington.
b.Explore opportunities for expanding youth programs.
c.Develop a list of people and organizations involved in health and human
services for purposes of communication.
In the fall of 2014 members will be designated to carry out roles to meet these
goals.
8.Next meeting: September 16, 2014.